1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to mobile supports or towers and more particularly to improvements in mobile collapsible towers of the kind described in my earlier U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,315,921 and 3,407,836.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
My prior patents referred to above describe mobile collapsible towers which may be utilized for various purposes but are designed primarily for use as water towers for servicing the water tank trucks, or water pulls as they are called, employed in land fill operations, that is, earth moving operations involving the leveling or raising the level of land areas.
One of the major problems associated with such a land fill is maintaining the proper moisture content of the soil in order to obtain the required degree of compaction of the soil. If the soil, in its native state, lacks the required moisture content, the land fill contractor must supplement the moisture by periodically wetting the soil as the land fill operation proceeds. Such additional water is deployed over the land fill area by means of water trucks which are commonly referred to in the trade as "water pulls".
The storage capacity of the water pull is limited, with the result that the pull must be periodically refilled during the course of a typical land fill. This periodic filling, or servicing, of a water pull creates a two-fold time loss involving the time required for the water pull to travel from its operating area to the water supply and back to the operating area, and the time required to actually refill or service the pull at the water supply. Moreover, many land fills are of such magnitude as to require the employment of a large number of water pulls. Servicing such a large number of water pulls introduces an additional time loss when it is necessary for the pulls to line up and wait their turn at the water supply, or supplies.
These time losses are minimized by using several mobile water towers placed at strategic locations about the fill. In this way, the time required for each water pull to travel from its operating area to a water tower and return is reduced and the tendency for the water pulls to line up at a water tower is minimized or eliminated. The use of a number of strategically located water towers spaced about a land fill site, therefore, is highly desirable.
In order to optimize effectiveness, water towers of the character described must satisfy certain requirements. Such water towers, for example, must be highly mobile so that they may be easily transported from one job site to another. Accordingly, the dimensions and weight of the tower, when conditioned for transportation, must satisfy the motor vehicle code specifications. The tower must also be capable of being towed and landed by a relatively light truck. In addition, the tower should be capable of being landed and erected on roughly cleared ground, such as ground which has been graded with a caterpiller and blade, without auxiliary ditching or hand shoveling. Such landing and erection capabilities of the tower should exist on both level land and mild slopes. Finally, the tower must be capable of erection to a height such that its water tank is elevated a sufficient distance above the ground to position the down spout of the tank over the fill port of a water pull. Preferably, the tower should be capable of being quickly erected and collapsed by one man.
The mobile collapsible water towers described in my above mentioned prior patents are uniquely constructed for such land fill operations. The present invention provides certain improvements in towers of the kind described in the patents which enhance their efficiency for land fill operations and the other uses for which such towers may be employed.